


Breaking Point

by glitchfics



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: M/M, Oneshot, eruri - Freeform, master - Freeform, servant - Freeform, servant!levi, snk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-04
Updated: 2015-11-01
Packaged: 2018-02-16 02:43:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2252925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glitchfics/pseuds/glitchfics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Servant!Levi</p><p>Erwin is master of the house, and the house includes a full staff of servants. Footmen, housemaids, groundskeepers. Levi is one of those servants, but perhaps the only servant who draws the master’s attention like he does. They've spent years averting their eyes from each other, but one late night they hit a breaking point.</p><p>This is set in maybe sometime in the 1800s (?) Think Pride and Prejudice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Breaking Point

Erwin was hunched over his wide mahogany desk, filling in the blanks of a merchant’s ledger with his messy scrawl. His honey blonde hair, usually combed so neatly, was mussed from a day spent working furiously at his desk. The skin of his hand was spotted with flecks of ink, and his warm blue eyes were drowsy. The day had waned, and the moon hung high in the sky. Hardly anyone was awake, save Erwin, Levi – who was waiting on him, fetching him drinks and such as the hours passed, and a few other servants stirring around the grand house before retiring to their quarters.

He looked up with a yawn, giving a shake of his head before calling for one of his servants. “Ackerman!”

Levi started from his position by the door of Erwin’s study when he heard his name called. He stepped into the room promptly. “Sir?”

Erwin lifted his hand, motioning the smaller man closer. “Would you be so kind as to pour me more scotch? I’ll need it if I intend to stay up another minute.”

Levi huffed a faint sigh, walking around the desk and reaching for the small scotch glass. No doubt it had been refilled countless times over the day. And yet Erwin was still fine; he used the alcohol to keep him awake more than anything else. “Mr. Smith, if I may-” He paused for a brief moment. Overstepping the boundaries was something the Levi worried over privately. 

When Levi was younger, he’d been in and out of several poorhouses, stealing what he could in between places to stay. Erwin had been riding by one day when a young Levi darted in front of his horse, startling it. It had reared and promptly dumped him onto the ground in the middle of the public square. A soldier lifted Levi by his shirt and dragged him over to Erwin, and he’d expected the worst. Instead, Erwin had asked what he was running for, seeing the half loaf of bread tucked under the boy’s arm. He’d taken Levi in, but sometimes – even after all these years – Levi still worried he’d make a misstep and find himself on the streets again.

“If I may, I suggest you go up to your bedchambers and rest. The last time you worked on this merchant’s accounts you were up until dawn.” He set the glass back down by Erwin’s hand. “If you remember, you didn’t feel well the next day.”

Erwin thanked Levi for the scotch, raising the glass to his lips and taking a quick sip, appreciating the fire that licked down his throat and the strong taste it left in his mouth. “Am I to blame for the muddled manner that this man keeps his accounts and affairs in? I’ve gotten myself wrapped up in his snarl of papers and numbers.”

“And all of it will still be here when there’s light in the sky, but you won’t be able to sort it out if you’re feeling poorly.”

A chuckle escaped Erwin, his broad shoulders shaking faintly. “Oh, you do worry worse than Ms. Downey, the old hen.” Downey was the woman in charge, head of staff. She’d been working for the Smiths when Erwin was still a drooling, swaddled infant. “But, you’re right again, Ackerman.” He finished the line of figures he’d been working and shoved his chair back, the sound of wood rasping over wood joining the sound of embers crackling in the fireplace. Erwin stood, stretching. “Put out the fire, will you? Then come start the fire in my chambers, and bring me a nightcap. The usual scotch.”

Levi hid a smile at what Erwin said. “Just keeping your best interest in mind, sir.” He shifted back when Erwin stood, pushing in his chair and straightening a few of the papers on the desk after the taller man had stepped back. “Yes, sir. I’ll be up in a moment.” Gray eyes followed Erwin’s movements as he stretched and yawned again before padding off. He put out the fire, watching the embers die and turning to walk up to the master’s bed chambers.

He lit himself a candle after he’d put the fire out, padding out of Erwin’s study, making sure to close the heavy mahogany door behind himself. Levi walked upstairs and down one of the hallways into the only room that soft stirrings still sounded out from. He rapped on it faintly with his knuckles and stepped in when he heard Erwin call for him. Levi took a breath when he saw Erwin, trying to hide the soft, pink flush that rose in his cheeks. The blonde man had already shrugged off his waistcoat and was pulling his wrinkled linen shirt over his head. Steel gray eyes flitted over the play of fine muscles in Erwin’s back and broad shoulders as he undressed and let the shirt fall to the ground in a rumpled heap of fabric by his waistcoat. 

Quickly, he looked away. He’d spent years under Erwin’s employment, and every single time he’d been able to quit his gawking and focus on the task at hand. Levi walked over to the fireplace briskly, fanning the faint flames that already crackled there and adding more wood. He stood, his legs unfolding in a fluid motion before he padded over to Erwin’s bedside table. Scotch sloshed into the bottom of a glass as he poured Erwin’s nightcap for him.

“How long?”

Levi furrowed his brow, sealing the bottle and setting it down before turning around slowly. “Pardon?” he asked.

Erwin turned towards him, only wearing his breeches. His sculpted torso was bare, a fine trail of golden hair wandering from just under his navel down the front of his breeches. Levi noticed how that hair was lighter, softer-looking than the rest of his hair. The taller man took a step forwards, his clear blue eyes on Levi. “How long have you been… noticing me like this? I see the manner that you look at me. With that pretty blush on your cheeks. Did you think I would never notice?”

Levi’s throat went dry, and his slim fingers rose to touch his cheek. He could feel how warm it was, how pink his cheeks must be. He tried to swallow, his wide gray eyes peering up at Erwin, only a few paces away. His gaze flickered back down to the ground. “I don’t think that we should speak of this. It’s wrong, inappropriate between a master and servant.” Erwin ignored what Levi said about it being inappropriate, instead answering his own question. “It’s been ever since I employed you, just a few months after, right? Since you’ve been looking at me in that manner, I mean.”

His head tipped forward hesitantly as he gave Erwin a slow nod. “Yes,” he murmured.

“And you’re sure your feelings aren’t born of something else? Gratitude, perhaps, for taking you in?” Now Erwin sounded hesitant, almost like Levi’s answer to his question would determine something, and he was afraid of exactly what that answer might be.

“Erwin-” Levi cut his eyes up to the taller man. “It’s been years. Any feelings bred from sheer gratitude would have faded by now. Not to say that I’m not grateful for what you did for me.”

“So you’re fond of me? Honestly?”

Levi blew out a breath, folding his arms across his chest. This conversation had ascended from master to servant and instead was something different. Something much closer. “Quite. Fond is a bit of an understatement, to be frank.”

Erwin crossed the space between he and Levi in a few of his long strides, stopping with his body barely half an inch from being pressed flush against Levi’s. “And you’re sure?” he asked again, raising his hands to cup Levi’s face. He ran his thumbs over the warmth of Levi’s blush that had spread across the tops of his cheekbones like wine spilt across a tablecloth. 

Levi only watched as Erwin stepped closer, even though there was a part of his mind that wanted to resist, worried over the ramifications of anything happening between them. But every other fiber of his being craved Erwin… badly. His arms fell to his sides, his body stiffening in surprise for the briefest of moments when he felt big hands cup his face. “I’m sure.” Levi could already feel himself softening, feel pliancy in his body, a willingness to submit.

“Good,” Erwin murmured huskily, his voice almost a purr. He shifted forward, pressing the muscular planes of his body to Levi, aligning their hips. Well, aligning them as well as he could, considering the height difference. He had to stoop to kiss him, tipping his face up.

Levi responded quickly, his mouth hot and hungry and frantic against Erwin’s. It was years of pent up stolen glances and sexual fantasies, and to have all of that recognized was like tearing a dam down and leaving the waters to rush out. He reached up, bracing his hands on wide shoulders, feeling the fluid shift of Erwin’s musculature beneath his fingers. Levi felt himself moving backwards, the man in front of him slowly backing him into the wall.

Erwin’s hands left Levi’s face, skimming down his sides and curving around his backside, cupping his ass through his servant breeches. His hands slid further, down to the backs of Levi’s thighs as he backed him against the wall. Erwin hiked the smaller man’s thighs up around his waist, giving a husky hum when Levi’s legs tightened around him. “Comfortable?” he asked in between breathless, frantic kissing.

Levi was wedged in between the dark paneled wood of the wall and Erwin’s body with his legs wrapped around the much taller man’s hips. “Definitely.” His fingertips pressed into broad shoulders as he moaned, feeling Erwin giving slow, gentle stirs of his pelvis, grinding against Levi.

“You’re louder than I had anticipated,” Erwin murmured once he’d kissed his way over to Levi’s ear.

An indignant flush burned on Levi’s cheeks. “I am not loud.”

“Oh?” He smirked faintly, his teeth grazing the curve of smaller man’s ear as he gave another grind of his pelvis against Levi’s, harder this time.

Another reflexive moan escaped Levi. His legs tightened around Erwin’s hips as he arched his back, pushing his chest up against the other man. He could feel how hard Erwin was, how his cock was straining at the front of the breeches he hadn’t yet taken off. Levi was just as hard as he was, almost painfully so. Each teasing stir of Erwin’s hips was more unbearably pleasurable than the last. Levi tilted his head back, eyes heavily lidded. “Damn you, Erwin,” he growled.

“For what?” Erwin chuckled, kissing at the soft skin just under Levi’s ear, keeping him pinned up on the wall with his body.

Levi opened his eyes to cut them at the blonde man in front of him. “For teasing.”

“Then would you like it if I stopped?”

“No,” Levi whimpered, his voice - usually indifferent – shot through with pleasure.

Erwin slipped his strong arms around the smaller man and stood off of the wall, Levi’s legs still wrapping his hips and his arms looped around his neck. He walked over to the side of his four-poster bed and bent over so that he could lay Levi down on it. The silk cover gave way under the slight weight, the fabric still cool, no one having laid in it in hours. The faint brush of coolness from the fabric against Levi’s skin was a delicious contrast to the warmth of the man pressed up against him. “You wouldn’t?” Erwin murmured, a wolfish grin spreading on his lips. 

Levi watched, the steel gray of his eyes soft, molten with lust as Erwin leaned over him, still standing with Levi’s legs around his hips. “No I wouldn’t,” he murmured again, his chest rising and falling with each intake of breath. His cheeks were flushed, not from embarrassment, but from the heat of it all. The heat of the fire that writhed on the hearth, the popping and crackling noises joining low, husky murmurs and breathless panting. The heat of the man in front of him, the warmth that pooled in between their bodies. Erwin propped himself on his forearms and lowered his face down barely an inch away from Levi’s. His breath was warm, sweet and fiery with the smell of the scotch he’d drank to keep awake while he was working. “Then I won’t.” He pressed his lips to Levi’s jaw, brushing them across it for a moment.

Levi’s eyes fluttered shut, and he breathed out through barely parted lips. Erwin’s mouth brushed along his jawline. He felt a strong arm loop around his waist, lifting him and moving him over to the center of the bed, his head rested against the goose-feather pillows. His eyes opened again when he felt the bed shift, watching as Erwin made his way down by his feet and settled on his knees, easing himself back on his haunches.

A faint smile curved on Erwin’s mouth, and Levi nearly groaned at all the promises that clung to that smile. Erwin was done with hot and fast, he could tell. He was going to go slow, excruciatingly so. Until Levi was screaming his name.

Fingers curled around the heel of the smaller man’s boot, tugging one off and then the other, dropping them off of the bed behind him. His hands clasped one of Levi’s feet, and Erwin arched a brow at how cold it was. “Christ, Levi. It’s barely even autumn.”

An involuntary happy hum escaped Levi at the warmth of Erwin’s hands, and he shrugged. “I’ve always been cold-” His brow crinkled quickly as he felt Erwin hiking his leg up, already about to ask what the hell he was doing. Warm lips kissed along the bottom of his foot, and Levi curled his toes, nostrils flaring gently. Erwin was paying special attention to the places where the skin was a bit thicker from being on his feet all day. His thumbs kneaded Levi’s foot deeply before he moved onto the next one, lifting it to his mouth and kissing each toe.

Levi sighed deeply, giving a faint arch of his back.

“You like this?”

“Mmm.”

Erwin smiled against his servant’s foot, pressing one last kiss to it before lowering it back to the bed. His hands wandered up Levi’s calves, feeling the flex of muscle shifting subtly under his touch through his breeches. Quickly, he leaned up off of his haunches and over Levi, his fingers deftly unbuttoning the smaller man’s breeches and catching them by the waist, pulling them down and off. Levi’s undergarments chased his breeches to the floor by the bed.

A faint moan slid from between barely parted lips as Levi felt his breeches and undergarments being pulled off and cast aside. Fabric rasped over heated, over-stimulated flesh, and he shuddered, fingers pressing into the silk cover beneath him. He could feel Erwin’s heavy gaze on his cock, and he bit back a whine when the bigger man intentionally ignored it.

Instead Erwin took his time, dappling his fingertips up his shins and nudging his legs apart. He bent his head down, tilting it so that he could brush his lips along the side of one muscular calf and then the other. “Damn, Levi. I didn’t think I had you doing much heavy lifting,” he said, his voice appreciative as his eyes wandered the muscle that flexed beneath Levi’s skin.

“Ms. Downey has me carry her crates and flour sacks for her,” Levi murmured.

Erwin only looked up at Levi with a smirk, moving from his calves quickly and pressing twin kisses to his knees. “Well, I should leave you to her more often then. But I’d miss you if you weren’t in the house, by my door all the time.” His mouth moved further up Levi’s leg to one of his thighs, sucking at his skin and leaving a love mark behind. “You’d miss me?” Levi asked, his words hitching in his throat as he felt Erwin’s mouth low on his thigh.

“I would. I’d miss seeing your tight ass through your breeches. I’d miss the way you smell when you lean over me to pour my scotch.” His tongue wandered over the sweetness of the smaller man’s skin, his hand propped on his thigh. “And I’d especially miss the way you blush.” His hot blue gaze flicked up to Levi’s face. “Right on the tops of your cheeks. And you never notice how it spreads and winds over to the tips of your ears.”

The blush that Erwin loved so much was making its appearance, the warm pink glowing on even the tips of his ears. “Hush up,” he grumbled, despite how warm and flattered his master was making him feel. 

“You want me to hush?” the blonde asked. He let his tongue run halfway up the underside of Levi’s cock, the thumb that rested on the smaller man’s thigh rubbing gently as he did so. “Hm?” Erwin did it again, careful not to push the Levi too far. He was drawing this out, taking his time.

Levi stiffened, his hands fisting the cover beneath him, an involuntary moan escaping him. His hips bucked up a bit, seeking Erwin’s mouth like a flower curling towards the sun. Erwin abandoned Levi’s cock, his lips dropping flurries of kisses along the smaller man’s hipbones and the twin lines in his musculature that curved down towards his groin. He shifted his position, straddling Levi’s thighs and bending over him as he kissed and nipped and licked along the planes of his body. “You’re gorgeous,” he murmured to Levi. A heated steel gray gaze snapped down to Erwin when he heard him speak, and he reached down, threading his fingers through blonde hair. Levi shifted his hand, exposing a few grays among the rest of the honey strands. “Tch, you’re going gray, Erwin,” he murmured, watching as the older man’s mouth roamed over his torso, leaving no inch of his skin unexplored.

“And I’d be completely gray if you didn’t usher me off to bed after working too long every night.” The words were murmured against Levi’s pale skin. His mouth found one of Levi’s nipples, sucking it gently, his tongue rolling over the peaked, rosy bud.

Levi’s nostrils flared, his fingers crooking in pleasure, scraping over Erwin’s scalp lightly. He arched his chest up, his legs wrapping loosely around the taller man’s hips. His breathing quickened, and he bowed his head. Levi moaned when he felt Erwin’s lips brushing across his chest to his other nipple, paying the same attention he’d given to the first. Levi tightened his legs around Erwin, the other man’s hips dipping into his. He’d found what he wanted, and he didn’t waste a moment.

He twisted his hips, groaning when his erection slid against Erwin’s through his breeches.

Erwin hadn’t been expecting it, and he opened his mouth, moaning against Levi’s chest, his breath hot and damp against his skin.

“Please, please,” Levi panted. His tip was leaking precum, the rest of which was smeared faintly across the front of Erwin’s breeches.

“Alright,” he murmured, pulling away and shifting off the side of the bed. Erwin slipped out of his boots and he kicked them from his feet. His fingers fumbled at the buttons that fastened the front of his breeches, his hands shoving them down his hips and pulling them off his legs along with his undergarments. He padded over to the mahogany side table by his bed, opening a bottom drawer and pulling out a small jar. The bed sank under his weight as he made his way over to Levi in the center of the bed. 

He set the jar down beside them carefully, nudging Levi onto his stomach and pulling his hips up towards him. “Ready?”

Levi propped himself up on his forearms to look back at Erwin briefly, giving him a nod. His gaze was heated, wandering up his employer’s physique before landing on his face. Erwin opened the jar and dipped his fingers into it, leaning over far to set it back down on the bedside table. He slipped two fingers into Levi, feeling a reflexive clench around them.

A soft grunt escaped Levi, morphing into a moan as he rocked back against strong fingers. “Fuck, Erwin.” His toes half curled against the bedspread beneath him. The bigger man pulled his fingers from his servant, rising up on his knees and guiding the tip of his cock into him. Damn, it felt good and damn he wanted to bury himself as deep as he could into Levi’s ass, but he wasn’t about to risk hurting him.

“More,” Levi breathed.

Erwin eased himself in another inch, his hands cupping Levi’s ass. “I knew it.”

Levi felt Erwin push farther in. For now he was manageable, but he’d seen how big Erwin was, and Levi didn’t know if he could take all of him. “Knew what?” he breathed. His hands gave Levi’s ass an appreciative squeeze. “How tight your ass is.”

Gray eyes rolled even though a rosy blush was burning its way across the tops of his cheeks. “Keep going.”

A husky chuckle escaped Erwin, and he slid his hands to Levi’s hips, pushing another inch of himself into the smaller man. He kept going slowly, stopping when Levi clenched around him with a grunt and a faint groan.

“Damn,” he panted, his voice desperate, his body taut. He let his head fall forward, his forehead brushing the bed.

Thick brows furrowed and Erwin started to pull out, stopping when he heard Levi speak.

“Don’t- Don’t- I’m fine. I can do this.”

“Alright then. Relax.” Erwin could see how tightly strung the muscles in Levi’s back were. He leaned over, kissing along his spine, his thumbs rubbing at his hips until he felt some of the pliancy return to Levi’s body. He pointed at the small jar on the bedside table. “Can you reach that?”

Levi nodded, reaching and groping for the jar a bit before he passed it back to Erwin.

Erwin unscrewed the top and dipped two fingers back in. He ran his fingers over the rest of his length and got Levi to set the jar back on the little mahogany table. “You’re doing so well,” he murmured as he eased more of his cock into Levi.

The smaller man took a sharp breath, sighing as he felt Erwin filling him.

“Good?”

“Yes. But I swear on both of our grandmothers’ graves, if you have any more to give me, you’re going to have to find something else to do with it,” he said sarcastically. “There’s no more, no need for swearing,” Erwin said amusedly. He gripped Levi’s hips a bit harder, holding him in place as he began to thrust. He pulled out, pushing back in with gentle corkscrews of his hips, careful to make sure he wasn’t hurting Levi.

Apparently he was not, because the second he started thrusting, Levi was all arching back and curling toes and panted curses. “Faster. Christ, Erwin.”

Erwin picked up his speed, the occasional sound of his own moans and panted curses joining Levi’s.

Levi reached between his legs, stroking his cock, the volume of his pleasured noises increasing while he touched himself. He felt a hand close over his, pushing his fingers away and replacing his hand.

“Ah ah, Ackerman.” 

“Sir?” Levi breathed, the response to his surname instinctive. 

“You almost let me forget about this,” he murmured teasingly, his thumb smearing his precum over the tip of his cock. “Make a note so I don’t forget next time,” Erwin purred. Levi moaned at the feeling of Erwin’s hand on him and the promise of a “next time”. He had begun to rock back against the bigger man, trying to stifle his sounds against the bed. The only other people in the house were the rest of the staff, and none of them were really in the same end of the house as Erwin’s bedroom. But that didn’t mean Levi wanted to risk being heard. Or worse, that someone would hear them and somehow figure that it was him with Erwin.

Levi’s breath came faster and he arched his back again, his hands clenching around fistfuls of bedspread. His breath hitched for a second, and his muscles locked as he came, clenching around Erwin’s length.

Erwin’s hand slid up from Levi’s cock, and his thumbs pressed bruises into his hips, gripping him tighter. He could feel Levi arching and rocking beneath him in the throes of his pleasure. Erwin bowed his head, growling a husky curse. He felt the delicious spiral of heat that was curling in the pit of his stomach winding tighter until he couldn’t bear it. Until he was hunched and shuddering over Levi’s back in orgasm.

Eventually Erwin regained enough of himself to rise back up onto his knees and pull out of Levi slowly, bracing his hands against the smaller man’s hips. A strong arm wrapped Levi’s waist and lifted him just barely as Erwin shifted them over from the center of the bed, laying Levi’s head on a pillow and easing himself down beside him. He rolled up onto his side, propping his elbow on a pillow to look down at Levi.

Levi felt flushed and almost-too-warm and spent everywhere, but it was the best feeling imaginable, especially when he let his eyes flutter open and saw Erwin by his side. Once their bodies had cooled enough he let Erwin gather him in his arms, holding him close by his chest, but not so close that they couldn’t look at each other.

“Mr. Smith, you really should have gone to bed hours ago,” Levi chastised him, tracing circles over Erwin’s broad chest with the tip of his pinky. “You’re going to be exhausted in the morning.”

A smile curved on Erwin’s mouth, and he bowed his head to press a kiss to Levi’s forehead. “We can sleep in.”

Levi pursed his lips. “I do have my day off tomorrow. But there’s no way that I could walk out of your bedroom in the middle of the morning without anyone noticing. We’re up and moving by four, the staff, I mean.”

Erwin’s arms tightened around him, his lips nuzzling at the top of his head. “Please? It’s most everyone’s day off tomorrow. Hardly anyone should be up in this end of the house.” He hesitated. “Alright. This time.” Gray eyes flicked up to Erwin’s face, and he could see a growing drowsiness. “Ah ah, up.” Levi gave Erwin a few good pokes in the chest, trying to usher him up and off the bed.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“I can see that you’re falling asleep, and the bedspread’s a mess. I’m not leaving that. Up.”

Erwin let his arms slide from around Levi and got up and out of bed, standing off to the side and watching while Levi got out of bed and stooped, slipping the first shirt he found on the floor on. The shirt fell halfway down his thighs, the sleeves far beyond his hands. He furrowed his brow and cuffed the sleeves until he saw his hands again, buttoning it a little more than halfway up.

He started untucking the bedspread from around the end of the bed, pausing when he realized Erwin was watching him intently. “What?”

“Come here.”

“Can I just finish with the goddamn bedspread?”

Erwin shook his head and padded over, wrapping his arms around Levi and stooping to kiss him softly. “I like seeing you in my shirt.”

Levi’s cheeks pinkened, the tips of his ears glowing. “That’s ridiculous.”

A thumb ran over the top of Levi’s cheek. “You think?”

Levi stretched up on his toes, threading his fingers behind Erwin’s neck to pull him down. He kissed him solidly, parting with a faint curve of a smile. “Maybe not.” He let his hands fall back to his sides and set back about untucking the bedspread and folding it up. He took it and put it down by the foot of the bed, walking over and pulling the rest of the sheets down so they could get in the bed. “Get in bed and wait a moment. I’ll only be a minute.”

Erwin slipped into bed, pulling the blankets up around his hips and watching while Levi puttered around the room, picking their clothes up off the floor and folding them neatly, setting them alongside their boots.

Finally he yawned, stoking the fire a bit and turning off the oil lamps before he walked over and climbed into bed, letting Erwin slip his arms around him and roll so that Levi was curled up on Erwin’s right side. Levi felt Erwin shift a bit, tucking his face against the top of Levi’s head with a contented sigh. 

Levi listened to the man breathing behind him, feeling his own eyelids growing heavy with sleep. “Night,” he murmured softly.

And just before Erwin’s breathing slowed further he kissed the crown of Levi’s head with a faint smile and echoed his goodnight. “Night,” he breathed.


	2. Stay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erwin and Levi have established that they have something, and they are plenty happy to explore that _something_ in various locations all over the house (like the study) while trying to keep their relationship quiet. Well, Levi's trying to keep it quiet. When it comes down to it, will his fear of being found out trump his feelings for his master?

Levi was striding down the hallway purposefully, toeing the line between a brisk walk and a jog. A serving maid had been sent by Ms. Downey from the other side of manor to fetch him, something about one of the horses. When he had first come to the Smith estate, he was a stable boy, and even though he’d quickly ascended through staff ranks, the stables kept their place in his heart. If there was horse business, he dealt with it.

He was so focused on the task at hand that he didn’t notice the doors to Erwin’s office were open, unusual at this time of day. That man spent quite a lot of time holed up in there, doors closed firmly even on a spring day as nice as this one. However, Levi did notice when his master materialized in front of him, bringing him to a sharp halt. He stood, spine straight, hands folded in front of him, legs together. His expression was blank, like a machine waiting to be fed instructions. “Sir?”

“Come in here for a moment, Levi. _I need you._ ”

Those last three words sent prickling electricity down his spine. Ever since that night with Erwin he’d tried to keep professional. The master seemed absolutely unfazed at the thought that they might be found out, if not a little amused. Levi, on the other hand, was absolutely terrified. It was very easy for a rich, influential man like Erwin to escape this kind of shameful thing if he were ever found out. Levi? Not so much. A poor servant with a slight criminal past who owed everything in his life to the mercy of his master. He tried to keep his nerves to himself most of the time, but occasionally he’d let himself worry in front of Erwin.

Despite his fears, there had been a few other times between them since the first night. Erwin was almost asking for trouble, the way he tried to touch Levi in such _open_ places. Grabbing his backside in the front hall. The way he’d have Levi serve him at dinner, letting his face wander close enough to kiss him. Beckoning him into the parlor and pulling him down onto his lap on the settee. _Those_ times Levi had to push his hands away or try to ignore how very tempted he was. But sometimes he conceded. Those times had been just as amazing as their first night together. His favorite was the library. Levi had been tidying up, making sure every book was in its proper place, every pillow fluffed.

_One heavy mahogany door swung open and clicked closed behind him; he heard it because the hinges needed to be oiled and it was the one thing he never seemed to get to. Levi assumed it was another servant and kept straightening the spines of a few particularly gorgeous editions. He cocked his head, wetting his bottom lip with his tongue as he pulled one from the shelf and stroked its binding. Once it was in his hands, he couldn’t help but open it up and page through it, the pages fanning their delicious mustiness into his face as they fluttered by. He inhaled deeply, closing his eyes and sighing through his nose._

_“That is a very nice copy.”_

_Levi shelved it quickly, turning around. “My apologies, Sir.”_

_Erwin looked amused. “No need to apologize. I like watching you enjoy things.” He smiled wider. “And, there’s not another soul in here.”_

_Raven eyebrows arched. “Are you quite sure?”_

_“Quite.” The blonde stepped closer, caging Levi against the bookshelves with his arms._

_Hands fisted into his shirt, ignoring the wrinkles they’d leave. “Perhaps we should check. Just in case,” Levi purred, tugging on the front of Erwin’s shirt._

_“You’re right. So smart, Levi. Where should we check first?” He smiled and bent down at the insistent tugging, kissing his servant deeply enough to leave the smaller man breathless. His hand rubbed at the front of cream breeches, and his eyes warmed as he watched the way it made Levi pant shallowly for him._

_“The leather chairs, Sir.”_

_Thank god for the soundproofing quality of thick shelves lined with hundreds upon hundreds of books. It wasn’t long before Levi was gripping at the arms of a handcrafted leather chair, his nails scratching rough streaks into the expensive material. His chest rested on the seat of the chair, the hardwood floors bruising his knees every time he rocked back onto Erwin’s cock. Erwin, meanwhile, was fucking him so hard that the feet of the chair were carving deep divots into the floor. Usually Levi would have fussed and clucked over the damage – expensive damage – that was being done, but he was a bit busy taking full advantage of how soundproof the library actually was._

_Afterwards, Erwin gathered Levi into his arms, kissing him softly while he rubbed the bruises on his knees gently, his touch soothing the dull, almost pleasant ache._

The memory was fleeting, but it warmed Levi _everywhere_. If he flexed his quadriceps, his knees still complained a bit, but the bruises had almost faded entirely away. “Of course, Sir,” he murmured, dipping his head and walking into the study.

The second the door was closed behind them, large hands circled his waist, and Erwin’s eager lips found his neck.

“Careful, don’t leave me with one of those marks of yours.”

“Come now. Just let me this once,” he breathed against soft skin, backing Levi against his desk.

One of Levi’s hands gripped at the edge of the desk, the other threading through Erwin’s hair. “Don’t you dare make it too high. I want to hide it behind my collar.”

Erwin kissed down his neck, deftly unbuttoning the first few buttons of his shirt and tugging it away from his collarbone.

Slender fingers tightened around blonde strands the second Levi felt Erwin’s teeth nipping at the sensitive skin of his collarbone, his tongue laving over the spot he’d created.

“I mustn’t stay long,” he moaned quietly.

“And why not?”

Levi pushed on Erwin’s shoulders until he stood straight so that he could look up at him. “I _was_ on my way to see if I can’t do a better job of wrangling the loose stallion that the stable boys can’t seem to catch. It’s spring you know. He’s broken out of his stall to get to the mare’s pasture, and he’s tearing apart just about anything in his way.”

Hands slid to Levi’s hips, pulling him closer. “Those stable boys are going to need to learn how to mind horses somehow. Why don’t we leave them to it? It’s been too long.” It was clear what he meant. “Master Smith needs you now. I thought your job was to attend to my _every_ need.”

“Apparently stallions aren’t the only ones in rut,” the smaller man scoffed, hiding his small smile.

“Oh, so you’ve decided to tease me? To shame my advances? You wound me, Ackerman,” Erwin said dramatically. “But you aren’t necessarily wrong.” He dropped his voice a bit lower, gazing down into steel gray eyes. “Because there is nothing I’d like to do more than bend you over this desk right now.”

“Tch. You wouldn’t dare.” But his words had Levi’s cock twitching in his pants, his hand gripping harder into the edge of the desk.

“I wouldn’t? Do you not know me?”

Somewhere along the line, Levi cared far less about getting to the stables and a hell of a lot more about baiting Erwin until he took him on his desk. He shrugged and looked away, feigning disinterest. It was beyond hard not to let his gaze flick over to his master, especially with the way the afternoon light was streaming through a chink in the drawn curtains. He knew that it was illuminating blonde hair until it shined brilliant gold. He knew that those blue eyes absorbed light like nothing else, and if he looked, he’d see them glowing warmly back at him. He knew that his eyes would wander down to trace familiar lips, and those lips would part and he would be utterly lost to them and whatever they said.

An indignant squeak escaped Levi when he felt himself being hefted up onto the desk.

“Are you sure that I won’t have you right here?”

“Quite sure.”

Erwin shrugged off his waistcoat and untucked his shirt with a flourish before undoing the first button of his breeches. “And now?”

“Master, do you need your clothes washed? I’ll have them taken to be cleaned. A fresh pair of breeches, a waistcoat, and a shirt will be brought to you in a moment. Though, perhaps it would be better to undress in your chambers?”

The taller man stepped even closer, spreading Levi’s legs with his hips and reaching between them. Strong hands rubbed up and down the inside of each thigh; they always stopped just before they could brush the bulge in his pants. “Now?” His voice was softer, and it sent the butterflies fluttering in his stomach flying much _lower_.

Levi reached between his legs and pulled up Erwin’s hand, inspecting it carefully, like a doctor would. He stroked the fine callouses worn into his hand from the fountain pens he used, furrowing his brow. “Sir, should I make a run to town for some hand cream? I do worry that these callouses will build up and snag on your new gloves.” After a moment’s hesitation he lifted the hand to his mouth, kissing his palm gently. He held it to his cheek, looking into Erwin’s eyes while he turned his face and took one of his fingers into his mouth, sucking slowly.

Heat flared around his pupils, and it looked almost like lake blue flecks appeared, darkening his irises. “You truly believe that I won’t?”

He let the hand fall back between his legs. “Well, perhaps if you were to prove it to me,” he conceded.

Erwin motioned him off of the desk without another word, beginning to undress him. Slowly, he untucked his shirt and began to unbutton the rest of the tiny, white buttons.

Levi rested a hand on his to stop him. “What are you doing?”

“You have been undressing me for years. Don’t think I’ve forgotten all the times I’ve been so exhausted from working late into the night that I wanted nothing more than to fall into bed, waistcoat and all. You were there, patiently ready to unbutton and fold away. Let me do this for you.” He continued, slipping the buttons through the holes faster when Levi didn’t protest. The shirt floated to the floor as he finished and moved on to the boots and breeches.

“Erwin, what if someone comes in?” He gripped broad shoulders for balance as his boots were unlaced and slipped off. It was a much safer bet to just pull down his breeches instead of completely undressing. Then, if they heard a knock at the door, all which needed to be done was a swift tug up and some hasty buttoning.

Erwin sank to his knees as he finished off the buttons of Levi’s breeches, working them down over his hips. He kissed just below his navel, his thumb rubbing at one hip. “I’ll tell them that I’m busy and mustn’t be disturbed.”

“And if Ms. Downey comes?” His voice was beginning to belay the nerves that twisted his gut. “She has no qualms about walking in, whatever you say.”

“She won’t. Most likely too busy whipping those stable boys into shape.”

“Oh, please, Erwin. You don’t seem worried at all! Humor me, at least.” He didn’t manage another word before he felt Erwin’s mouth around his cock. “Dear God,” he whispered thickly. Gray eyes flicked down, and Levi groaned when he saw him bob his head to take him deeper, his tongue running up and down the underside of his shaft. He brought a fist to his mouth, stifling himself. The other hand slid back into Erwin’s hair, tugging lightly.

Erwin stood up, taking Levi’s chin in his hand. “Now, what about Ms. Downey?”

“Absolutely nothing,” he said breathily.

“And do you believe that I’ll take you right here?”

“Yes, Sir.”

Leather boots thudded quietly against wooden floors as Erwin paced over behind his desk, opening the bottom drawer and pulling out one of the little jars like he kept in the drawer of his bedside table.

The smaller man turned to face him. “How many of those are hidden around the house?” Usually it would amuse Levi, but right then all it did was turn him on. All he could think of when he saw it was the sight of two fingers dipping in and out, and the way it felt to have Erwin work him with those two fingers until he felt like his servant was ready for his cock.

“Just in my chambers and this study.” Blue eyes glinted cheekily. “And I might’ve stowed one away somewhere in the library. _Just in case_.” He walked back around to the other side of the desk, but this time Levi didn’t turn to face him.

He felt Erwin behind him. Felt the soft rasp of his half-buttoned shirt and the way the bulge in his pants pushed against him. Felt the way lips peppered kisses at the nape of his neck; the thought of Erwin stooped behind him to reach that low brought a faint smile to Levi’s lips. He could hear rustling and shifting as a carefully tailored shirt was dropped to the floor in an unceremonious heap. In a moment his legs were nudged apart, and a guiding hand pushed into the small of his back until he leaned over the desk on his elbows.

A finger slid into him, pumping in and out for a long moment. Levi spread his legs wider, craning his neck to look over his shoulder. “ _More_.”

“I’m _trying_ to make sure you’re comfortable, Ackerman.”

“Oh, I am _beyond_ comfortable.” He rose up on his tip toes, lifting his ass higher and wetting his bottom lip with his tongue.

After a couple minutes longer, and with that sentiment expressed, Erwin grabbed one of his hips eagerly and guided himself in, sinking deep. His other hand found the other hip, gripping hard as he inhaled sharply. “You feel so good.”

Levi’s lips were pressed tightly together, his brow furrowed in pleasure as Erwin began to thrust. His strokes were long and smooth, and it didn’t take long until he found the spot that made Levi’s toes curl and his hands ball into fists. It was almost impossible not to cry out. Not to tip his head back and moan as he rocked back faster and harder against Erwin. Instead only a stifled whimper escaped him, his breath coming fast and heavy.

Erwin slowed, and he almost whined in protest. “Are you okay?”

“ _I was_ ,” he breathed, scowling over his shoulder.

“Sorry.” His fingers traced up the smaller man’s spine slowly as he spoke. “You haven’t made a sound.”

Levi sighed heavily. “Honestly? Right now? While you’re inside of me?” Not the best of moments for a conversation.

“I can go slower if you need.”

“I don’t want to be heard. This isn’t your bedroom late at night, nor is it an empty library.”

Erwin chuckled huskily. “That is all?” He bent over Levi’s back, his lips hovering by his ear. “How about I tell you when you can make those noises I love so much? I refuse to go without them.”

“Someone will hear,” he insisted.

“Ackerman.”

“Sir?” His response was both immediate and instinctive.

Fingers brushed over one of his cheekbones. “I want to hear you.” Erwin’s hand trailed down from Levi’s cheekbone to between his legs. His thumb stroked over the tip of his cock teasingly. He pulled his hips back, thrusting hard into his servant. “ _Now_.”

Levi dropped his head low, his nostrils flaring. “Yes. Yes, alright,” he moaned, rocking into Erwin’s hand.

“Good.” He kept thrusting, keeping his pace as he braced a hand against Levi’s back, his other hand busy with his cock. “You’re so beautiful.” And to Erwin, he was. His undercut was always kept absolutely impeccable, the edge of his hairline sharp and crisp against smooth skin. The way he arched his spine and lifted his ass when they were together like this. The fine play of the muscles in his shoulders; Levi was in no way bulky, but he was most definitely muscular. His flinty gray eyes and the tutting noise he made whenever he rolled those eyes. And his _ass_ , God, his ass.

Even in his pleasure he had to be snarky. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he murmured over his shoulder, only to close his eyes and groan lowly a moment later. “Yes, right there.”

“Ah ah.” His hand quickened on Levi’s cock. “You are.”

Levi cursed softly, pressing his head against his forearm. Each time he rocked into Erwin’s hand, he rocked back onto his cock a moment later. And he could tell that Erwin was turned on out of his fucking mind because he couldn’t keep his hands still. They always started with his hands gripping Levi’s hips. The farther along they went, the more his hands slid up his spine, between his legs, gripping his ass, threading through his hair, bracing against his back. This time, the hand that wasn’t pleasuring his servant was tracing up his waist and over his shoulders.

After a couple minutes longer, echoing footsteps sounded out from far down the hallway. Erwin grunted, acknowledging them, but continuing without pause.

His servant, however, tensed up immediately. Fingers pressed hard into the mahogany of the desk, and his head whipped over his shoulder.

“Levi, relax. The doors are closed, we’ll not be disturbed.” Fingers with fine callouses from days spent hunched over his desk with a pen in his hand stroked a piece of raven hair from Levi’s forehead.

“I’m relaxed.”

Erwin chuckled. “Why must you lie? I can feel you.” His hips were still circling into Levi, slower now.

“I just don’t want to be found out.” He scowled, but Erwin knew he was hiding genuine worry.

He kissed Levi’s shoulder, sighing softly. “Alright, we will wait until there’s no one in the hall.”

Levi bowed his head against the desk, hiding the relief that he was almost certain lined the planes of his face. A moment passed, and he turned his head, pressing his cheek against the desk to look back at Erwin. “Thank you.”

“Of course. Anything,” he murmured, tracing fingers down Levi’s spine.

The hallway was long, and as the footsteps drew closer to the study, they grew louder. Breath hitched in Levi’s throat, his eyes closed as if robbing himself of one sense would better his hearing as he listened to the sound. He wasn’t a religious man, but he was praying with every fibre of his being that the footsteps would pass. Dear God, let them pass. For a moment, he was hoping so hard that they would that he thought they did. But there was a knock at the door. That knock twisted his gut like nothing else ever had.

Erwin had him pinned against the desk, and he half-stood, pushing back against his master with a degree of urgency that matched the frantic pace of his heart. His demeanor was stony, his eyes refusing to meet Erwin’s.

“Levi, please!” he whispered, brows furrowed in concern even as he braced his hand against Levi’s back and pulled out of him.

He twitched when he felt Erwin pull out of him. That minute moment of pleasure felt wrong in contrast to the anxious roiling in his gut. Never should he have let himself be undressed; gathering his clothes from the heap on the floor and trying to put them back on was taking far too long.

“Levi.”

The knock came again, and Levi only quickened his pace.

“Master Smith?” A servant girl at the door.

Erwin looked up, his jaw set in irritation. “Yes?”

“May I enter?”

Levi had already tugged his breeches on and was now deftly buttoning up his shirt.

“Good God; Levi, stop,” he whispered, trying to catch at his servant’s hands while answering the servant girl outside the door. “Now isn’t the best time,” he answered her.

“I wouldn’t ordinarily disturb you, but Ms. Downey is really having trouble, Sir.”

Levi shoved his hands away and stooped to tug on his boots and lace them up. The rest of his livery went on quickly, and he straightened his hair. He took his post at the front of the room by the door, looking straight ahead, hands folded behind him.

Erwin stared at him; he tried to meet his gaze.

“Sir?”

“One moment!” He shook his head and buttoned up his shirt, tucking himself into his breeches and buttoning those before going to take his place at his desk. “Ackerman, the door please.”

Levi did as he was told, stepping back to the side so that the girl could enter timidly.

“My apologies, Sir. But Ms. Downey sent me for Ackerman. She needs him to wrangle the loose horse, and she said that she figured the only reason he would not come was if you were having him run an errand for you. That’s what she said, at least. Sir.”

“Well, I actually need -”

“If Ms. Downey needs me, I’m quite sure it can wait,” Levi said in a clipped tone, striding out of the room.

The servant girl was barely hiding her astonishment at him being so rude with their master, but she curtsied and excused herself quickly.

“Levi, how could you speak like that to Master Erwin?” she asked incredulously, trotting to keep up with him. “He’ll have you thrown out!”

“I would like very much to see that,” he muttered grimly.

She frowned and stopped, watching as he stormed off.

Erwin asked for Levi once over the course of the rest of the day. When he didn’t come, he figured it was best to give him time. Levi didn’t come when he was summoned that night either. Or the next night. In total, three days and nights passed before Erwin saw it fit to find him himself. Levi was primarily a house servant, but he hadn’t been seen in the house since that day in the study with Erwin. Not by the kitchen staff, or by the doorman, or by the servant girls who did the washing. Not by a soul.

He suspected Ms. Downey knew something. No, he _knew_ she did. Nothing happened on the Smith estate that she didn’t know about. When he’d asked her about Levi, her cryptic response assured him of nothing other than her knowledge of what had happened to him. Knowledge that she refused to hand over. If anyone else had pulled that, with how much Erwin cared for Levi, they’d have been punished on the spot. But Ms. Downey was a second mother to him, and so he’d grumbled a bit before taking his leave.

He didn’t worry for Levi so much as he worried over what was swirling around in Levi’s skull. Whatever it was that had driven him from the house for this long had been eating at Erwin since the moment he watched him storm out of the study.

It was evening. The sky was dusky pink, streaked with cirrus clouds. It was spring, but the nights were still cold, and the chill was just starting to mount as he walked out of the manor. He was an irregular sight: his shirt was cuffed to his elbows, and only half tucked into his breeches. Most definitely not his usual pristine way of dress. His staff tried not to stare as he walked by, but he was leaving in his wake raised eyebrows and hushed murmurs.

He did know where Levi slept. Not in the servant quarters, but in the loft above the stable. It’s where he’d first stayed when he was still a mere stable boy, and even as he’d risen through the ranks, he’d kept that as his room. Erwin had never actually visited there, at least not as long as it had been Levi’s place.

Erwin walked into the stable, the only sounds the stamping of horses and soft whinnies as a few of them reached their heads over the half-door of their stall to greet him. The ladder up to the loft was directly to his right, and memories of climbing up the worn rungs to play with his cousins clouded his mind as he tested his weight on the first rung and started his ascent. His knuckles rapped on the rough underside of the trapdoor into the loft. When there was no answer, he tentatively pushed at it. Locked from inside, of course. If he’d learned one thing about Levi over the years they’d known each other, it was that he was simultaneously one of the most rash and most cautious men he’d ever met.

Blue eyes traced the edges of the trap door, looking for a crafty little latch. _Something_. Knowing Levi it could be anything. Just his hand brushed the hinge the door swung up, and he winced, yanking it back as it pinched the skin of his index finger. A familiar scowl greeted him overtop the opening.

Levi left the door up and walked away, standing a few paces from his bed. “Master Smith. To what do I owe the honor?”

Erwin finished climbing up, dragging his torso up onto the wooden floorboards unceremoniously. He sucked on his index finger for a second, taking note of how steely grey eyes flicked to his mouth. His foot nudged the trapdoor until it slammed shut. Erwin didn’t answer immediately, instead taking in Levi’s space. It was neat and sparse, unsurprisingly so. A carefully made bed with a trunk on the floor at the end of it. A table by the window with a small wash basin and a chair. A narrow wardrobe against the far wall. He looked back to Levi, furrowing his brow at how he was standing: impeccable posture, hands folded behind him. Like a servant. “Is that really necessary?”

“It’s required.”

“Not right now it isn’t.”

He pursed his lips. “If you say so, Sir.” His hands fell to his sides.

Erwin’s jaw flexed when Levi said “Sir”. The formality needled at him in a way he struggled to pinpoint. When he drew nearer, Levi adjusted his position – shifting away – so subtly he almost didn’t notice. Almost. The space between them felt cold and wrong, and he hated it so vehemently that it made him sick. “Sit.”

Levi sat on the bed, posture still rigid.

Very suddenly Erwin hated the power he wielded. Hated that an offer for Levi to sit was like issuing a command. He might as well have said “fetch me my coat”. His tongue felt thick in his throat.  
The smaller man watched with feigned disinterest. He hadn’t let himself see Erwin for three days, and now, to have him before him? It was torturous not to at least go to him. Not to at least lift his hand and carefully look over his index finger where he’d seen it pinched by the hinge.

The chair scraped across wooden floors as Erwin swung it around from the table, leaving it in front of Levi and easing himself down. “I asked Ms. Downey about you.”

“Mm.”

“She wouldn’t breathe a word.”

Levi didn’t make a sound.

“Was that your doing?”

“I’m afraid not. Perhaps she thought it best. She’s a very intuitive woman.”

“I needed to see you.”

Grey eyes wandered away from Erwin, looking out of the window at the darkening sky. “For?”

Erwin’s hand tightened into a fist against his leg. “Levi, you disappeared. You refused to see me.”

“I’m seeing you now.”

“Yes. Thank you for so graciously seeing me after I tried to break in through your trapdoor after three days of missing you. How kind.”

Levi’s gaze refocused on Erwin at the words “missing you”.

“Levi, goddamnit! For this to work I need you to _try_ at least!”

In all of his years of service under Erwin Smith, Levi could only call upon a handful of times where Erwin had lost his temper even remotely. Seeing him lose his composure like this now was… jarring, to say the least. “What is ‘this’?”

“You know.”

Levi stared at him silently, willing him to say it. Wanting him to say it.

Erwin forged on. “Us.” Part of him hoped that Levi would inhale sharply and his features would soften. He would go to sit on the bed beside him, and Levi would turn to look up at him. He would lean down to kiss him softly, cupping the nape of his neck.

Instead, Levi looked out of the window again. However, he did let his posture slacken a bit. A moment passed before he spoke. His heart was swelling, but his stomach was plummeting as he contemplated his response. “I can’t.”

“Can’t?”

“Be part of an ‘us’.”

Erwin felt like a horse was standing on his chest, pushing the air from his lungs in an instant. “Why not.” He didn’t even sound as if he was asking a question, all the inflection having drained from his voice. “Damn you, at least look me in the eyes.”

Levi obliged him, steeling himself for the moment his heart would shatter. And shatter it did. The moment his gaze met pained blue eyes something cracked within him. Erwin looked tortured, and it was because of _him_. He’d been called many things. “Heartless” was one of them. But any bastard who had called him that in the past was wrong. No matter what he’d done, no matter what he was going to do, there was nothing more heartless that this. Nothing.

“Please.”

Levi swallowed thickly. Did he have an answer that warranted this? Did he even have an answer that he could properly explain? No and no. All he knew was that when he thought about being with Erwin, he felt two things. One of the things was warm and light and comforting. The other struck the deepest, blackest fear into the pit of his stomach.

“Levi.” His voice broke on the second syllable. “I’ll go, but won’t you at least humor me with an answer? Something?” Erwin’s eyes searched his face for a minute, and when Levi’s silence stretched on he pressed his lips together. “Right.” He stood and dragged the chair back into place before crossing over the trapdoor and bending over to lift it open. The rungs creaked softly as he climbed down, leaving the door open above him.

He didn’t know how long the exchange with Levi had lasted. It had felt like only a few minutes, but the sky was already dark, each star shining in its place. Whatever had gone wrong, it felt like his fault. Levi hadn’t given him a reason to think otherwise. Levi hadn’t given him a reason at all.

The house felt different now. Like the walls were closing in on him. Heat pricked at his palms as he paced through the halls to his chambers. His room was cold. Usually Levi lit the fire and poured his drink, and for the past three nights, Erwin had declined that anyone else do it. The lack of a fire went ignored; instead; Erwin took the decanter from his nightstand and walked out onto his balcony, leaving the glass stopper behind on its side. He lifted it to his lips, taking a larger swallow than ever should be taken from that particular decanter. It warmed him, and with each swallow his thoughts grew a little fuzzier, a little more jumbled. The glass hung precariously from his fingertips. Eventually it fell and shattered by his foot.

Meanwhile, Levi was still sitting on his bed, staring at the place he’d last seen Erwin. Each moment that passed since he’d left ripped the hole in Levi wider. His hands gripped at his thighs, his jaw clenching and unclenching. What he’d done just wasn’t right. It wasn’t honorable. Goddamnit, it wasn’t even humane. He closed his eyes tightly and inhaled deeply before standing and starting towards the ladder purposefully. Things wouldn’t be left this way. Not on his account.

House staff looked up, startled as he whisked by them in a shirt, breeches, and riding boots. Not the livery required of house servants.

Once upstairs, Levi didn’t even bother with knocking on Erwin’s door. He slipped in, raising his eyebrows when he heard glass shattering. “Erwin?” The absence of a reply chilled him. “Erwin?” The balcony doors were wide open, and the moment he walked out he saw him. Broad shoulders hunched over as he rested on the balcony railing with his elbows, one boot crossed behind the other. Broken glass littered the ground by his feet. “Erwin.”

Erwin stood, wavering a bit as he turned around. He smiled broadly, but his eyes were brimming with tears. “Levi?”

Levi’s brow furrowed as he took Erwin in, the slight widening of his eyes betraying his concern. “Good God, what happened to you?” he asked gruffly. He offered Erwin his hand, leading him back into his room and securing the balcony doors behind them.

“Missed you,” Erwin slurred quietly.

That stopped Levi in his tracks. He sat Erwin down on the edge of his bed. At this point it was relatively easy, considering how compliant the huge blonde got when he was drunk. “What’s this talk of missing me? I’m right here.” He turned to grab some nightclothes for Erwin, but apparently that wasn’t a part of his master’s plan. Strong arms caught Levi around the waist and pulled him back, cradling him against Erwin’s chest.

“But you weren’t here.”

Levi struggled against him before rolling his eyes and settling against his chest. Drunk Erwin might be an emotional pushover, but he was also very strong, and _very_ hands-on. “When?”

“Before. For three whole days. And I found you.” Foggy blue eyes rimmed by wet, spiked lashes looked down at Levi. “But I think I did something wrong.”

“What?” He shouldn’t be humoring Erwin right now, but he couldn’t help it. Talking to him like this was easier than before. He didn’t have to worry about Erwin remembering this; he didn’t have to worry that his sharp tongue would cut the one person he hoped it never would.

“I hurt your feelings.”

Levi’s breath hitched in his chest. “No, you didn’t.”

He looked confused.

“I was just…” This is drunk Erwin; he wouldn’t remember. It didn’t matter what Levi said. “I was scared.”

Erwin laughed. “Not you.”

A smile twitched on Levi’s lips. “Yes me.”

“Why?”

“Because nobody can know about us, remember? It would be very bad if someone found out.”

“But it’s a secret.” He snuggled Levi closer like a child with a favorite toy.

“I know. It’s just… I suppose I just don’t feel like you understand how important it is that no one finds out. You have money and this estate. You’re untouchable,” he whispered, tracing Erwin’s chest through his shirt with his pinky. “And I’m just a servant. They’d haul me off and leave me to rot. I’d much rather just be able to work for you to be around you than to risk losing you to be with you.” Revealing that much of himself to Erwin made his gut twist anxiously, no matter how many times he reminded himself that it was _drunk_ Erwin.

“I would keep you safe,” Erwin mumbled.

“Thank you. Will you let me down now?”

Instead Erwin shifted back on the bed and flopped on his side, spooning his body around Levi’s.

“Not exactly what I meant, but alright.”

“I mean it.” He sounded a little more lucid this time. “I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. Ever.”

Levi let himself revel in the feeling on Erwin’s warm bulk pressed up behind him, strong arms pinning him close. He hesitated before he spoke. “Promise?”

“Mhmm. Because I love you.”

Grey eyes flew wide, and he wriggled against the embrace, turning himself around. “What?”

“I love you.” He had a dopey grin spread across his face.

His heart leapt into his throat in a good kind of way, if there was such a thing. “You’re drunk, Erwin.”

“I know,” he said simply. “Want me to say it again when I’m better?”

He managed to force his way out of Erwin’s arms, sitting up and sliding off of the bed. “If you want,” he murmured. Levi started grabbing nightclothes from the wardrobe, laying them on the end of the bed. Busywork to keep him from thinking about this too hard. He heard a muffled grunt and looked over, rolling his eyes. Straight from confessions of his love to getting his own shirt stuck on his head trying to take it off. “Erwin, stop moving and sit up.”

Erwin complied, laughing as Levi helped free him.

“Don’t try to take anything else off; I’ll help you.”

Dark blonde brows rose. “Oh, you’re going to help me disrobe?”

“Erwin, stop being ridiculous.”

He unlaced his master’s boots, setting them down neatly by the bed and starting to unbutton his breeches. It was becoming quickly apparent that this variation of drunk Erwin was also exceedingly aroused, judging by the bulge in the front of his breeches. “Erwin, I’m not going to do this for you if you let that happen,” he scolded, trying to look everywhere but _there_.

“I’m sorry. You’re just really handsome,” he said. It sounded like the words were dribbling out of his mouth.

Levi hid a smile as he pulled the breeches off and folded them up. He passed the nightclothes over to Erwin, helping him make sure they went on the right way.

“Do you remember when you told me that you were scared?”

He set his jaw and nodded. “Yes, I do.”

“About people finding out about us?”

“Yes.”

He reached for Levi again, and this time Levi sat in his lap willingly.

“Don’t be cross with me.”

“That depends on what you have to say.”

“Someone already knows.”

Levi tensed, his heart rate picking up almost immediately. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Please no.”

“It’s okay.” Erwin kissed his head.

“No.”

“It’s okay,” he repeated quietly.

Levi stood up and folded his arms across his chest, shaking his head. “Who knows? Who is it?”

“Ms. Downey.”

“For how long?” His eyes were closed, his nails digging crescents into his palms.

“She found us in bed the first night.”

Erwin stood shakily and walked over to Levi, concerned. He might have been drunk, but that didn’t make him incapable of reading the emotion written clearly across Levi’s face. He was scared. Terrified, in fact. Levi, scared. The idea was almost unfathomable.

“It’s okay.”

“Stop saying that!” Levi growled.

“She knows about me. She’s known about me for a while.”

“About you being…?”

“Being?”

“Attracted to men.”

“Oh! Yes.”

Erwin lumbered closer and rested a hand on his shoulder, leaning down until he could rest his chin on Levi’s head. “I made her promise not to say anything because I made a promise.”

“What promise?” Levi breathed. It felt like his world was crumbling around him, and he couldn’t think of anything Erwin could say to fix that.

“You didn’t want anyone to know. So I didn’t want anyone to know.” He pressed sloppy kisses to Levi’s head. “Are you still scared? I don’t want you to be.”

“I’m not scared,” he said defensively.

“Okay.” Erwin yawned widely. “Are you tired?”

“You’re the one who just yawned.” He said it absently, his mind clearly wandering.

“I know, but I want you to sleep with me.”

“Fine.”

Levi’s worst – and only – fear had just been realized, and he didn’t know how to cope. Ms. Downey knew. Clearly she hadn’t told anyone; she wouldn’t do that. But still, she _knew_. How had she not been treating him differently? How had she not even mentioned anything to him? These were the questions he needed sober Erwin for, as easy as drunk Erwin was to talk to. Good God, no wonder Erwin found it so funny when he tried to quiet himself when they were together. No wonder he’d been so flippant about their sneaking around, about where he chose to be affectionate with Levi.

Erwin tugged on his hand, pulling him over to the bed. “Sleep. Sleep always feels nice.” He laid down without even climbing under the covers, patting the bed beside him. Levi pulled a blanket up from the end of the bed, crawling in beside him. The bigger man was already half asleep as he gathered Levi into his arms. His breath ruffled raven hair. “Do you…?” The rest was completely incoherent.

“What?”

Erwin’s brow furrowed as he struggled with the words. “Do you – Do you promise to stay?”

He hesitated a moment. “Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I would like to dedicate this chapter to HARUBI. At the very beginning of this September, they commented on Breaking Point (which originated as a lowly Eruri one shot) and said they would love to see a continuation where "erwin just keeps trying to fuck levi in various points of the house and levi's starting to get shit scared that ms downey's gonna catch them" and "erwin's just a little shit who thinks it's so funny and cute that levi gets all turned on and tries to hard to keep his voice down".
> 
> I thought that was actually kind of hilarious and amazing and so... I wrote it. I hope that this chapter fulfills all of that, despite how I kind of take a step away from smut later in the chapter and it gets _real_. Sorry for that; I start fucking around with emotions. The first third was written a couple months ago, and today I felt super inspired and decided to finish it, so my apologies if it sounds a little rough at the end. Or if I totally set you guys up for a _third_ chapter, which was never my intention. But I guess I've gone and done it now.
> 
> I just want to thank everyone who has supported this, because it was my first upload to this site, and Eruri is my OTP (don't tell Jeanmarco I said that) to this day.
> 
> Also, I had some writing music for this that I would love to share with you guys because it's amazing:  
> Piano Music - Galactic Peace  
> Cinematic Music - Tempest  
> Cinematic Music - The Beginning  
> all by "Capo Productions" on Youtube

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, this is the first eruri fic I've written in ages that I actually feel good about. Good enough to post anyways. I'm still shaking the rust off, but I hope this goes well.
> 
> This is also the first time I've ever used ao3, so bear with me, though I think I've figured it out.
> 
> Any feedback is appreciated, I will kiss your feet and all of that junk if you comment or leave kudos or anything.
> 
> Thanks!


End file.
